Viper Venom
by Ambercat999
Summary: James McCullen XXIV adopted a young girl off the streets of Dundee, Scotland. She becomes a part of his family/team and grows close to Rex and Storm Shadow. She eventually learns how to treat wounds and becomes Storm Shadow's personal nurse. The first chapter gives more background/detail. Sorry for the bad summary... Storm Shadow/OC
1. Chapter 1

Jessie McCullen hadn't had what one would call a normal childhood. From the time she was three to the time she was fifteen she had lived on the streets of Dundee, Scotland. Her mother had abandoned her own child on the streets because her current lover didn't want kids, never giving a second thought to Jessie's welfare. From that moment on she was forced to fend for herself. When she was young she followed the older homeless children's example and used her sweet innocent complexion to survive. However as she grew older and her face and body matured she found that using her looks to get things was dangerous, men started to take notice of her womanly figure and she was forced to be more careful about where she went and who she hung around.

When James McCullen found her she was in a rather sticky situation, she had lost track of time and had lingered to long in the restaurant district. During the day it was the perfect place to be, there was always a constant flow of people who were wealthy enough to take pity on a lost soul in need and the laws presence was strong enough that the usual scum she had to worry about stayed away. However, at night it was one of the worst places to be; there were many pubs located in the same district as the restaurants and at night the streets seemed to beckon the drunkards out. They would stumble around in a haze and often try to take advantage of any woman who wasn't already accounted for; this meant that after the dinner rush Jessie made sure to leave as soon as possible. She knew she was no match for a full grown man, even one who was intoxicated, and found that avoiding the area all together was her best bet. Unfortunately she had been day dreaming and had forgotten to keep track of the time. She only realized her mistake when she noticed a rather round man stumble out of a nearby bar mumbling nonsense under his breathe, she quickly ducked into a nearby ally hoping that in his drunken stupor he wouldn't notice her in his drunken haze. He didn't, swaying on down the road to wherever he was headed.

As quick as she could she ducked back out of the ally and sprinted down the road towards the industrial district where she usually slept, it wasn't the nicest place to stay but she figured it was safer than some of the other places. Sometimes if she could save up enough money she would rent a room at a motel for a night so that she could sleep on a real bed and take a nice warm shower to get clean. She was so caught up in her thoughts of a warm place to sleep that she completely forgot to look where she was going. All of the sudden she ran into something hard, falling flat on her ass she looked up at the person she had run into in horror. Standing before her was a man dressed in an impeccable suit standing a bit in front of an Asian man who appeared to be close to her age. She didn't know who the two of them were but she knew that they could make her life even more miserable then it already was.

"I am _so_ sorry mister; I wasn't looking where I was going, please forgive me." She looked down hoping to avoid making any direct eye contact; the last thing she wanted was for them to think she was a disrespectful brat.

"It's no trouble lass, but if I may ask, what had you in such a hurry." Jessie blushed unused to being treated with respect, rather unsure of what to say she sat there for a moment before finally stuttering out an explanation.

"I was trying to get home as fast as I could sir, I stayed too late in the wrong district and I had to run so that nothing bad would happen to me. Both men though about what she had told them before the one in the suit spoke up again.

"And why aren't your parents with you to keep you out of trouble?" She bit her lip, unsure of what to say next.

"I don't have any parent's sir, my father left before I was born, and my mother abandoned me when I was a little girl." She could tell that her explanation had unsettled both the men because they both shifted from one foot to the other subtly.

"Well," said the man in the suit, "Since you don't have any parents to look after you I guess you'll just have to come with us. I have enough room in my household for one more." Jessie was stunned, never in her life had she imagined that she would be a part of anyone's family. In a matter of minutes she had gone from having nothing to being invited to become a member of a rich family; she couldn't say no.

"A-are you sure? I mean I've been doing okay on my own and I wouldn't want to inconvenience you…" She could almost slap herself, here this man was offering her something she had only ever dreamed about and she was questioning him. Lucky for her the man didn't seem to take offense to it; in fact he seemed to find it amusing.

"Yes lass, I'm sure otherwise I wouldn't have offered in the first place." Overwhelmed by a sudden surge of emotions Jessie could only nod to show that she accepted his offer. He smiled down at her before waving his hand at his companion who stepped forward and wrapped his coat around her smaller frame.

"Welcome to the McCullen Clan, I am James head of the family. What is your name young one?"

"I'm Jessie."

"Welcome to the family Jessie McCullen"

That night James had his legal team draw up the adoption papers then used his seemingly endless wealth to bribe the legal system into overlooking any missing or incomplete information. By the end of the week she was officially Jessie McCullen daughter of James McCullen CEO of MARS industry. After the adoption was finalized she was taken back to America where she met the rest of James's ragtag family. She found that while all of them made her feel at home, Storm Shadow and The Doctor Rex were the ones she was most comfortable around.

She would spend hours with Rex down in the lab, watching as he performed different experiments using nanomite technology. She didn't understand all of the different things that happened in the lab but she found it all extremely fascinating, she would often ask Rex questions about what he was doing and why and the scientist was more than happy to share his knowledge with someone else. During her many long afternoons spend with Rex she learned how to make extremely deadly toxins using all sorts of different things, Rex figured that if she was ever attacked or kidnapped it would be a good idea for her to be able to defend herself.

Rex wasn't the only one who thought about her safety though. Storm Shadow decided that she should know how to fight in case something bad happened and so took it upon himself to teach her both Martial Arts and how to use a dagger. However he always stressed the point that she should never stay and fight, she should always look for a way out and take it the first chance she got. He believed that she was too delicate for battle and that she should let others protect her instead.

However she didn't want to be completely useless, especially after she found out that they were actually a secret organization so she took it upon herself to learn a useful skill. At first she had planned to become a better fighter and take on a role similar to the Baronesses but it soon became apparent that Storm Shadow and the others wouldn't allow her to put herself in harm's way. So instead of focusing on ways to harm people, she learned how to heal people. She read as many medical books as she could get her hands on and had her father hire any tutor that would be able to teach her about medicine. She even went as far as to travel around the world in order to learn traditional treatments used in different countries. Because Storm Shadow had taught her how to protect herself she returned the favor by becoming his personal nurse. Every time he came back from a mission injured she was the one to patch him up and make sure he took care of himself. They grew close as they began to trust each other more and more and eventually Jessie realized that she had started to like Storm Shadow as more than just a friend; not that she would ever tell him that.

So I know this chapter didn't have anything to do with the movie but don't worry the next one will be set at the beginning of the G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Please review and let me know what you though, thanks for checking out my story!  
-Ambercat999


	2. Chapter 2

Jessie wasn't sure what to say as her father paced back and forth in the small room that was the submarine they were in. They had just gotten word that Baroness had failed at getting the case with the nanomite warheads. Suffice to say James was less than happy about the entire thing luckily he was able to get the Joe's to reactivate it unknowingly. Jessie was sure that if it had been anyone else they would have had to deal with more than some harsh words, Baroness was lucky that James McCullen had a soft spot for her; McCullen had been waiting ten years to set the plan in motion and it had cost him a lot of money, anyone who screwed up now was as good as dead. He accused her of being distracted by her former love but she was quick to shoot down the idea. They walked over to the screen currently displaying a map; there was a dot in the middle of the Sahara Dessert marking where the Joe's hideout was located. Jessie cringed as he ran his fingers over the Baronesses virtual cheek; she thought it was weird that he constantly flirted with the younger woman. He was her father and Baroness was practically her older sister, making their romantic flirtations extremely awkward for Jessie. She refocused on the conversation in front of her just in time to see Baronesses holograph disappear and Storm Shadows appear in its place.

"If you had sent me in the first place it would already be done."

"I'm sending you now Storm Shadow and Viper too. No more mistakes, the schedule must not be compromised any further." Jessie jumped slightly when she heard her father use her code name. It was rare that he would send her on missions and she was always taken by surprise. Storm Shadow nodded before his holographic form turned and disappeared.

"Keep your eye one her for me." Jessie wasn't sure if he was referring to watching out for her while they were on the mission, or if he wanted Storm Shadow to keep an eye on Anna while she was with her husband. Before she could up anymore thought into the statement Zartan decided to speak up.

"American politics, governors, senators, congressmen; no wonder nothing ever gets done."

"That's what we're going to fix, Mr. Zartan." Jessie smiled at the manner in which her father replied, he always seemed so classy to her and she would often try and emulate him when she was taking to anyone outside her immediate family. James's reply seemed to satisfy Zartan's need for conversation and he kicked back resting his feet on the table while whistling For He's a Jolly Good Fellow. Jessie used to Zartan's habits found the whistling comforting and soon fell asleep, her head resting against one of the large windows of the sub.

Unfortunately she was unable to sleep for long, all too soon the submarine came to a stop and she was roused from her sleep by her father.

"Wake up Jessie, we've arrived at the base and The Doctor has something he wants to show us." She smiled groggily before getting up, her father knew her so well. He had purposefully mentioned seeing The Doctor because he knew that she missed him, she hadn't been able to visit the base in a while and she had missed her friend.

They exited the sub and almost immediately turned right, entering a room inhabited by a few dozen men in what looked to be standard black training uniforms; their emotionless faces unnerved Jessie and she made sure to stay close to her father. The door across the room opened as they three of them filed in and Rex walked through holding what appeared to be a data pad. They four of them met in the middle, standing around a clear cage with holes in it; inside a king cobra slithered around contentedly.

"The king cobra, magnificent creature, nature's Grim Reaper and symbol of lethal purpose; unseen until it strikes. Its venom can kill a full-grown elephant with a single bite." Jessie smiled; she had heard all of this before. Rex was fascinated by the deadly snake and often raddled off random facts when he was working. He had been the one to give her the code name Viper. He had said that she wasn't deadly enough to be called a cobra but she was as graceful and silent as a snake thus she was a viper. McCullen was apparently impressed by both the how lethal the king Cobra could be and the full extent of Rex's knowledge when it came to the snake.

"Very nice."

"So far we've created 20 Neo-Vipers, nineteen stand before you." Jessie couldn't help but think that Rex had named the faction of super soldiers after her.

"Is it working?"

"We injected 1,000 cc of the nanomite solution into each subject. When they finally stopped screaming, brain scans showed a complete inactivity of the self-preservation region of the cortex. "

"English, Doctor?" Rex didn't respond right away, instead he started tapping on the data pad her brought with him making Jessie extremely curious about what was going to happen next. One of the men stepped out of line and started to move towards the king cobra's cage as Rex gave his explanation.

"They feel no fear," the man unlatched the cover of one of the holes and stuck his arm into the cage with the venomous snake, "Cortical nerve clusters show complete inactivity." The snake bit the man's arm and he didn't even flinch.

"They feel no pain. Concepts of morality are disengaged; they feel no regrets, no remorse." The man removed his arm from the cage before falling to his knees. Jessie was sure that he was going to die so instead of focusing on him she kept all of her attention on Rex's explanation.

"The nanomites join together as a fighting mechanism first blocking, then expelling the cobra's venom." Jessie shocked looked back at the man on his knees and was stunned to see that the cobra's venom was being expelled from the two puncture holes in his arm. He sat back up as if nothing had happened completely silent.

"And they're completely obedient?" Rex hit two more buttons on his pad and the man stepped back into formation with the other Neo-Vipers .

"Of course. The real world applications are endless, so you tell me, is it working?" McCullen smiled, he was obviously pleased with the results of Rex's experiment.

"Send a team to rendezvous with Storm Shadow and the Baroness, and make sure to assign some to keep an eye on Jessie during the raid." She blushed, her father wasn't always the most subtle person.

"Consider it done, the Joes will never know what hit them." They started to walk out but Jessie lingered just long enough to catch a glimpse of the Neo-Vipers uniform, she thought the iron mask was a bit overkill but she knew why her father had chosen for it to be that way. Having seen what she wanted to see she ran to catch up to the other two.

"The 20th Neo-Viper is already set up in Washington, DC and awaiting your signal."

"You've done well. You've thrown the caber clear out of the yard."

"Construction of the presidential bunker has also been completed. Now, if we sold one warhead on the black market I could continue my research." Jessie sighed, she hated when Rex brought up the topic of selling a warhead on the black-market. They both knew how her father felt about the idea and she couldn't understand why Rex kept bringing it up.

"I appreciate your thirst for knowledge, Doctor but this world is messy enough; no. What it needs is unification, leadership. It has to be taken out of chaos by someone with complete control," Jessie had to admit that is scared her to hear her father talk like that. It reminded her of something Hitler would say and she loathed the thought that her father and such an evil man could have anything in common. "Beijing, Moscow, Washington… When these missiles detonate the world will turn to the most powerful man on the planet," McCullen turned to the Doctor, "when I'm finished, the money will take care of itself. You'll be able to do all the research you want."

Thanks for reading my second chapter! I'm trying to stick to the plot as closely as possible but please let me know if I got anything wrong. I would like to give special thanks to JasmineChyanne and shadowdragonspirit for following my story/ adding it to their favorites. Please review, review, REVIEW!

**To Guest: Thank you so much for reviewing my story, I had a hard time thinking of a way to make Jessie a part of the group so I'm glad that you liked it! I hope you continue to read and enjoy my story.**

**To cool (Guest): Thanks I hope you continue to read the story and enjoy it. Thanks again for the review.**

Thanks again to all the people who have taken the time to read my story up to this point you all rock!  
-Ambercat999


	3. Chapter 3

Jessie watched from the shadows alongside Storm Shadow as Baroness's husband greeted her, she felt somewhat bad that they were using him but at the same time she found his obliviousness humorous. Not to mention the fact that he let Anna do whatever she wanted without ever suspecting a thing; for such a brilliant scientist, he was kind of an idiot.

"Finally, my wife is home."

"Hello Daniel. How was your meeting with the Minister of Defense?"

"He was thrilled. The accelerator performed flawlessly. I wish you would have been there." Jessie wanted to laugh; there was no way in a million years Anna would take time out of her day to sit through something as dull as meeting with a government official unless it involved battle strategies.

"You and your little lab rats are so clever." Jessie had to stop herself from laughing; Anna had obviously become bored with the conversation and now was brushing him off as if he were nobody.

"How was Monte Carlo?" It would seem that she wasn't the only one who had picked up on Anna's disinterest; Daniel was trying desperately to keep his wife's attention.

"I didn't get what I was after."

"I suppose I should be grateful."

"Most husbands would be."

"Most husbands don't have such mysterious wives. They know exactly where they are and what they do." Jessie was suppressed; Daniel had never called Anna out on her secretive lifestyle before. It was a bit worrying, their plans would be set back tremendously if he were to start snooping around in Anna's business.

"They think they know."

"Anna, I don't want to fight. I missed you."

"Well I never tire of a good fight. But not with you, darling, let me freshen up and I'll meet you downstairs. "

"I do love you, my beautiful Baroness."

Daniel left the room and no more than a second later Storm Shadow appeared. Jessie waited to make her appearance wanting to see how long it would take Anna to pick up on her presence.

"McCullen gave me orders to kill the Baron if he so much as touched you."

"Well he's my husband. Of course he touches me," Anna made a valid point, however when it came to her, Jessie's father could be a little bit possessive. "And besides, his work at the lab goes much better after we've touched, and that's the important thing." Jessie screwed up her face, no matter how old she got she would still get uncomfortable at the slightest mention of sexual intercourse.

"So what are you doing, spying on me?"

"If I was spying on you, you would never know." Storm Shadow had a knife to Anna's throat before Jessie could blink. She almost stepped out from her hiding place to tell him to back off, but Anna was a bit faster. Seconds after Storm Shadow put his knife to her throat she took a kunai that she had had hidden on her and tried to drive it through Storm Shadows skull. He caught her hand, the blade halting mere inches from his eye.

"Getting closer."

"You were my best student," Jessie tried not to let the comment get to her. She knew Anna was better at fighting than she was but still, it hurt to hear Storm Shadow acknowledge someone else as better than her. "Viper and I will be coming with you to retrieve the warheads, we leave at dawn."

Jessie watched Storm Shadow leave the room and considered stopping to talk to Anna before following him, however she decided against it when she noticed the other woman had pulled a small black box out of her purse. She knew what was in the box and the story behind said object. Both Anna and Rex had told her about Anna's first love and how they had gotten engaged. She could see that Anna was lost in memories of times past and deciding to leave her to her reminiscing, Jessie silently slipped out of the room.

She met up with Storm Shadow outside the mansion as the got into the nondescript black sports are that would take them back to the base.

"What do you think will happen when we attack tomorrow?" Jessie knew it was a slightly dumb question to ask but she honestly wanted to know what Storm Shadow thought would happen.

"We will attack the enemy base and retrieve the warheads at any cost. Some of our soldiers will die, but they won't go down without a fight. You will stay by my side at all times and avoid close combat as much as possible. It should not be too difficult to achieve our goal."

Jessie blushed but made sure to nod, she knew that Storm Shadow was only telling her to stick close to him because her father ordered him to keep her safe; still, she couldn't help but feel special. She knew she was probably just imagining it because of her infatuation, but it was a pleasant thought. The car ride back was a long one and soon Jessie head started to bob soon enough the smooth motion of the car had lulled her to sleep. Her head fell softly onto Storm Shadow's shoulder and he tensed at the initial contact but relaxed right after, shifting so that they would both be more comfortable. He felt a certain contentedness whenever she was near him and though he would never admit it out loud, he held romantic feelings for her. The car ride seemed to fly by and all too soon Storm Shadow found himself lifting Jessie's slumbering form from the car before heading in to the base so that he could put her into bed.

Jessie woke the next day a bit dazed and confused, she didn't remember arriving back at the base or falling asleep in her bed. She blushed realizing she must have fallen asleep in the car, meaning that Storm Shadow had had to cart her upstairs to her room. She felt mortified and wished that he had simply woken her up, then at least she could have retained some of her dignity. She continued to dwell on her embarrassment as she dressed in her uniform and all the way through breakfast as well, it wasn't until she was boarding the drills along with all the other soldiers that she was able to push the thought from her mind. She could obsess over her self-perceived humiliation after they completed their mission for now her focus was needed elsewhere.

I LIVE! Well actually my laptop lives, but same difference. Sorry it took me so long to update this story, my laptop charger broke and I had to wait to get a new one. Hope you all liked this chapter, I would like to give special thanks to jessieandy, ExoticAngel97, ponzi382, SHiVer in the rain, Mercede216, Twilight-lover106, animecrazygirl1, jocie161, Where'stheBloodSnake, NightRider6, macromea, Tsui Yun, Nightwing's Gal, FrostElfofSlytherin, kcm199527, grim assassin sherlock101, ShiningWingsOfTheDragon, aliceXavengence, Mikari Satsuke, Athena734, lizzygreenfield1995, and The-Darkened Abyss for following/ adding my story to their favorites.

**To blackrosewitch1996: Thank you very much for reviewing my story I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

**To cool: Thanks for the review I appreciate the support **

**To Infinity wolf: Thank you for the review I hope you continue to read and like my story.**

**To kcm199527: Thanks so much for the review I'm glad you have loved my story so far, I hope you continue to read and love it.**

**To aliceXavengence: Thanks so much for the review I'm glad you've enjoyed it thus far. Next chapter is the raid and I hope you enjoy it :D**

**To The-Darkened Abyss: I'm glad that you like my story so much. I hope that it continues to meet your expectations, thanks for reviewing.**

**To Tsui Yun: Haha that's kind of the reason I decided to write the Fanfiction is because there weren't very many Storm Shadow stories out there. Thanks for following it and I hope that it meets your expectations.**

Thank you to everyone who has read my story up to this point, you all rock! Please don't forget to REVIEW, and stay awesome.  
-Ambercat999


	4. Chapter 4

Jessie tried her best not to squirm around in the seat of the drill as it plowed through the desert sand. She was anxious for the mission and was feeling rather claustrophobic in the small pod. After what felt like forever she felt the drill power through something stronger than sand. She opened the pods hatch to find that she and the others were now inside a large hanger also known as the G.I. Joe headquarters.

Anna pulled out a device that projected a picture of the bases layout; a red dot signified their target.

"There's our little weapon's case."

"Alright you, three guard the machines; Viper, stay close." Jessie nodded her head in acknowledgment.

They met little resistance as they made their way towards General Hawk's office. She stayed behind Storm Shadow jumping a little when h suddenly drew his sword and slashed at something behind a wall, a Joe falling to the ground dead seconds later. While the rest of them continued on without pause Zartan stopped leaning down and taking the deceased's hat and placing it on his head before he started to talk off his coat. Jessie knew that his job involved blending in but she didn't like the fact that he was using a dead man's clothes, it just didn't seem right.

They continued on Zartan taking the lead as they stealthy made their way towards the targets location. It seemed that General Hawk wasn't taking any chances with the case and had it locked up in his office. A young blonde woman stood outside the door, probably Hawk's personal assistant or something of the like.

"Sorry to disturb you sir."

"That's all right Corporal."

"I need you to sign here, here and here. And also here, here…" The woman cut off giving a sudden gasp as a knife was driven through her torso. In a way Jessie almost felt bad for her, she obviously wasn't anyone of importance and Zartan hadn't needed to kill her… then again he was a blood thirsty killer so it wasn't such a surprise that he had chosen not to spare her life.

Hawk was well trained and punched Zartan before he had a chance to get a swing in. While the other man was down Hawk went for his gun that was sitting on his desk but was too slow, before he could take aim and fire Storm Shadow appeared in front of his and cut him down.

The woman who had been stabbed was still alive and Zartan took the time to taunt her in her final moments.

"Good by sweetheart." His face showed that he held no remorse for what he had done. When he looked up his eyes met Storm Shadow's, it was obvious that the white ninja disapproved of what he had done.

"Oh, that's right. You don't kill women." It was true; in all the time Jessie had known Storm Shadow she had never once seen him kill a woman. She had asked him about it once and he had told her that there was no honor in killing a woman. What he didn't tell her was that every time he saw a woman killed in cold blood, he thought of her; especially when they were defenseless.

"For you, Zartan, I'd make an exception." Jessie would have laughed if it weren't for the fact that they were currently on a high priority mission.

Anna quickly moved into the room while Zartan hung back by the door keeping watch. Together she and Storm Shadow hauled Hawk's body over to the safe where they used his dog tags and eye scan to open it. Anna grabbed the case and they all filed out quickly while Hawk lie on the floor bleeding. Unfortunately for them he wasn't as hurt as they had believed because seconds after they had left his office an alarm started to sound throughout the complex.

The Joe's jumped into action, a flurry of soldiers running to get weapons and such everywhere. Suddenly Jessie and the others found themselves fighting to get back to their machines. Jessie made sure to stick close to Storm Shadow as he cut down Joe's left and right. Anna radioed ahead so that the pods would be ready to go when they got there.

"We've got the warheads. Prep the Mole Pods for evac, we're on our way."

'_We're already on it.' _They hurried on only to stop when their escape pods went up in flames. Anna shot at the man responsible for their set back before he could fire on them as well.

"Now how do we get out of here?"

"Follow me." Storm Shadow jumped over the railing and dropped down to the ground below.

"Like that's gonna happen." Jessie had been just about to follow him when she noticed Anna's alternative route. She had to admit that she defiantly preferred the improvised ramp, Storm Shadow had been her teacher but that didn't make Jessie capable of doing the same things he did. She followed Anna down the ramp ducking away from the oncoming shots.

"Find the control room. Open the exterior hatch, and secure this area." Jessie stuck close to Anna seeing as how Storm Shadow had moved on ahead of them and smiled behind her mask as the Joe's were cut off before they could even get to them. However she failed to notice one of the Joe's coming up behind her, before she knew it she had been restrained and a hand had been placed over her mouth preventing her from shouting. She watched as Storm Shadow prepped what appeared to be some sort of jet pack.

"Can you fly one of these things?" A shot prevented Storm Shadow from replying.

"Don't move! Anna, out the case down."

"Fine," she put the case down, "Done." She started to walk towards the soldier obviously certain that he wouldn't hurt her.

"Stop. Anna, stop right there."

"You can't shoot me, can you?"

"I will if I have to."

"Deep down, you're still the same man I fell in love with." Jessie suddenly understood why she was so confidant, the soldier point a gun in Anna's face was Duke. It would make sense that he was having trouble following through with his threats, from what Jessie understood Anna had meant the world to him.

"Don't force this."

"What could have been; Right, Duke?"

He cocked the gun obviously stressed, "Just give me the case, God damn it." She was now standing right in front of him, her forehead almost touching the end of the muzzle. At this point even Storm Shadow was beginning to get tense; he reached for his sword obviously ready to end the confrontation.

"Move and I'm gonna blow her away."

"Do t. You already killed me once." Jessie flinched, that was a low blow, even for Anna. She knew from what Rex had told her that there was nothing Duke could have done to save him that day. There was no way they could have known that the air strike was going to arrive early. But if Duke's face was anything to go by he obviously felt differently.

Luckily for them all one of the Viper soldiers turned the corner effectively distracting Duke and coincidently the soldier that was holding Jessie hostage. After that all hell broke loose. Jessie got away from her captor but found that she was unable to get to Storm Shadow or Anna and was forced instead to simply fight any Joe who got too close.

At the same time Anna used the confusion to grab the case again and get away. Storm Shadow was about to kill an African American soldier who had appeared to be close to Duke when a ninja dressed completely in black stopped him.

"Hello, brother." The two started to fight and Jessie was amazed at how easily the other ninja kept up with Storm Shadow. She could only guess that this was the infamous Snake Eyes that Storm Shadow had told her about.

It had seemed as if Anna was going to get away when a red headed woman came out of nowhere knocking the case from her hands. They proceeded to fight using anything available to them as a weapon. Anna used a chain to attempt to choke the other woman but it would appear that she had some tricks up her sleeve. The Joe hit a button on her suit and suddenly she became invisible. Using Anna's brief shock to get out of the choke hold she was in. It was obvious that the Joe had the upper hand after that, at least until Anna threw oil onto her and ruined the suit. With one final hit to the head the red head went down and Anna walked away the victor.

While this all had been going on Storm Shadow had managed to get away from Snake Eyes and get back to the get pack thing. He started the machine up and proceeded to head to the exit picking Anna up along the way. She grabbed the case on the way out and they were gone in seconds. Unfortunately Jessie had been too far away from them for Storm Shadow to safely pick her up, and she nodded to Anna as she watched the two of them go, letting her know that she understood. When they were finally out of sight she slowly turned to the Joes putting her hands up in a sign of surrender.

"So boys, I'm guessing it's a bit too late to say sorry…?"

And so, I'm back. I wasn't too sure if I would be able to do the battle scene justice or not so if I did a horrible job I apologize. I would like to give a special thanks to PalmTiger, Mrs. Marie Woods-Winchester, ZabuzasGirl, kisekikiseryouta, Dark Raven Jester, camsam17, shiki ryuusaki, pauoagirl, loveisthewayforme, StellarStrife, playwright1986, PalmTiger, Teepartygirl, CHIBI-CRAZY, aby14a, and BlindAlley05 for adding my story to their favorites/following it.

**To ZabuzasGirl: Thanks so much for reviewing my story I hope you enjoyed this chapter**

**To IM Awesome: I'm glad you are enjoying my story and don't worry, I wish the oc was me too haha**

**To BlindAlley05: I'm really glad that you like my story so much I hope that you continue to find it enjoyable**

**To ShiningWingsOfTheDragon: I'm glad you love my story. I'm also glad to know that I'm doing well pacing the story, I was worried that I would get through it too fast so I've been watching the movie while I write each chapter so that I don't skip anything important.**

Thanks to everyone who's read my story up to this point. If you like this story or feel like there's something important that I left out/should change just shoot me a PM and I'll see what I can do. And please please please REVIEW! You are all super awesome!  
-Ambercat999


	5. Chapter 5

Word of the theft reached Washington DC the next day. It was devastating to think that such a powerful weapon had been stolen from the Joes, especially when the Joes were supposed to be the best.

"How many warheads?" The president was visibly troubled by the fact that a rouge faction of what would seem to be terrorists had gotten their hands on such a lethal weapon.

"Four, Mr. President."

"Any threats? Demands?"

"None so far, sir; but the Joe's were able to capture one of the terrorists before she could escape. They are hoping to get information out of her; however she hasn't said anything of importance yet. "

The secretary hoped that by mentioning the fact that they did in fact have a lead would put the president in a better mood. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had caught onto the shift in conversation because another one of the president's entourage decided to speak up at that exact moment. He failed to realize that the whole point of mentioning their captive had been to get the presidents mind off the warheads.

"We take the lack of demands to mean the terrorists are unfocused, no clear goals."

"No, it means they intend to use them…"

While the White House was busy trying to figure out what to do about the new terrorist threat that was now looming over America the Joe's were busy licking their wounds.

"General Hawk is stable now, but he won't be conscious for another day or so. He's one tough bastard."

It would seem that other than a few dead soldiers the Joe's had made it through the fight rather unscathed. General Hawk was the only one who ended up confined to a hospital bed, the rest just needed a few stiches and some pain meds. Jessie too had made it through the fight relatively intact ending up with a few cuts and a dislocated shoulder. After being restrained by the Joes she had been taken to the infirmary where a doctor had checked her to make sure she didn't have any extensive injuries; he had set her shoulder and stitched up the cut on her thigh. He had then advised that she have a day of bed rest to recover before the Joes started to interrogate her, something she was extremely grateful for.

And so she had spent twenty four hours confined to a bed with two guards watching her at all times. She was taken from her room at around noon the following day and taken to a different room where she assumed she would be interrogated. As she and her guard walked through the base she got a good look at just how much damage had been done. Soldiers were everywhere moving debris, fixing the parts of the structure that had been destroyed, and carting away dead bodies. She cringed as they passed a stretcher that had a white sheet over it, despite the fact that she lived with terrorists she still felt bad that people had died, these men and women had family's and she felt bad that they had been taken away from them so suddenly.

Duke, Ripcord, Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Heavy Duty all took turns interrogating Jessie. Considering Snake Eyes couldn't actually question her he went first, simply staring her down as they sat in the silent room; they hoped that the silence would unnerve her and she would be easier to crack for the others. What they hadn't expected was for her to be perfectly comfortable with him, instead acting tense and uneasy around him she began talking to him as if they were old friends. She talked about how Storm Shadow was her teacher but how she wasn't very good at being a ninja like him. She told him how Storm Shadow had told her about their childhood and how she wished she could travel to Japan and see where they grew up. In the end Snake Eyes was the one who became uncomfortable and as he walked out of the interrogation room the Joe realized that breaking her would be harder than they thought.

Ripcord went next trying to get her to open up by being friendly to her instead of trying to intimidate her but instead of gleaming any useful information he ended up simply wasting time with pointless rambling. Scarlet and Heavy Duty both tried to intimidate her into giving up the information but neither were successful. After living with people like Storm Shadow and the Baroness she had become used to dealing with intimidating figures and no longer felt threatened by them. She knew that the Joes wouldn't do anything to her, she was their only lead as to who had the warheads and what they were going to do with them; as such, they wouldn't do anything that could potentially harm her.

Duke as the only one who had any success, he walked in and sat down casually. He wasn't going to try to become best friends with her like Ripcord had but he didn't see the point in trying to scaring her into submission either. He decided that starting out with simple questions first would be the easiest thing way to see if he could get anything at all out of her.

"How long have you known Anna?"

"A few years, Anna was already a part of the family when I joined. They saved me from living on the streets and over time she became like an older sister to me… She did love you, you know; she was just hurt when you didn't come back."

Duke winced a little; he didn't like that she knew so much about his and Anna's past.

"And what about Storm Shadow how long have you known him? You spoke as if you know him very well."

"Storm Shadow was one of the ones who found me. I was living on the streets of Scotland when he and my father found me. They took me in and I have been a part of their family ever since. Storm Shadow taught me how to protect myself and in return I helped care for any wounds he received while on missions."

"I see, and who's your father then?" Jessie gave him an incredulous look; she couldn't believe he thought that she would fall for such a poor trick.

"I'm not stupid Duke, I'm not going to tell you my father's name; I'm no rat."

"Fine, then how about you tell me your name instead."

"I'm Jessie."

"No last name?"

"Oh no I have one; you just don't get to know it." She smirked at him, she had given him information but it was useless. He was obviously annoyed with her and she took great pleasure in that fact.

"Fine then have it your way." He walked out of the room motioning to the two guards outside the door as he left. They in turn entered the room and helped Jessie out of her chair, she was then led to a small cell that had a simple cot, a sink and a toilet in the corner; the layout of the small room very similar to that of a jail cell. After the guards had locked her in Jessie sat down on the make shift bed with a sigh, she missed her family desperately and could only hope that her father and Storm Shadow were planning a rescue mission.

At the same time mile away at their secret base it would seem that McCullen could care less about his daughter's current predicament. Instead of making plans to save her he was reclined in a plush chair holding what pared to be an iron mask.

"This belonged to an ancestor of mine. He was caught selling arms to both sides. The French forced him to wear it for the rest of his life. They called him Destro, destroyer of nations."

"So why do you keep it?" Storm Shadow couldn't understand McCullen's fixation on the mask, it didn't seem very special to him; what was the point in giving them a lesson on his family's past, especially his ancestor's mistake. He believed that there were better things that they could be doing at that same moment, such as figuring out how to save Jessie. He would never voice his opinion though, McCullen was his boss and therefore it was not his place to question him.

"So that I never forget the most important rule in dealing arms."

"Let me guess, never sell to both sides?" McCullen grinned at Anna before replying.

"Never get caught selling to both sides," he got up setting the mask on a shelf behind his chair before giving out his next set of orders, "Take the warheads to Paris, have them weaponized. Then I want you to test one."

"Test one?"

"We'll let CNN show the world how well the preform."

Storm Shadow who had been standing quietly in the corner decided to throw in his two cents.

"Fear is a great motivator."

"I have a target in mind, one the French will never forget, as I've never forgotten what they did to clan McCullen."

Storm Shadow and Anna waited for a moment before disconnecting their holoforms; they had their orders, there was no point in lingering. Storm Shadow wished that he could have at least mentioned Jessie before he was issued his mission though. He couldn't understand how McCullen could be so calm when his daughter was at the mercy of the enemy. His only consolation was that he knew the Joes wouldn't hurt her. They were the good guys and as such they treated their prisoners well, or at least they better; if he found out that they had abused Jessie in any way there would be hell to pay, and nothing, not even God would be able to stop Storm Shadow from exacting revenge.

I feel so proud of myself two chapters in two days! This is partially due to the fact that I had no homework this weekend and all my friends were busy and partially because of how many people reviewed so quickly. I would like to give special thanks to Asery Aseerrmio Ecvoll Asernil and StupidDeaths for following my story/ adding it to their favorites.

**To The-Darkened Abyss: Haha I'm glad you liked it. I was going for witty but I was a little worried it would be a bit cliché. Thanks for reviewing I hope you liked this last chapter.**

**To StupidDeaths: I'm glad you like Jessie; she's one of my favorite characters that I've created. I just felt like if she was kickass then she would become a Mary Sue and that was the last thing I wanted haha. Well thanks sooo much for reviewing and I hope you continue to enjoy my story.**

**To Asery Aseerrmio Ecvoll Asernil: I'm glad you think my writing is fantastic and I hope to post at least one chapter every week depending on how much homework I have. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you continue to like the story.**

**To ShiningWingsOfTheDragon: Thanks for reviewing again I appraise the continued input. I honestly don't think I would have been able to write this story if I didn't have the movie to reference, there's just too many things that happen for me to remember all the important details. I hope that you continue to like my story.**

**To IM Awesome: You have no idea how much it means to me that this is one of your favorite fanfictions. I'm extremely glad that you have enjoyed my story thus far and I hope that it continues to meet your expectations :D**

**To ZabuzasGirl: Thank you for continually reviewing my story it means a lot to me **

Thanks to everyone who's read my story up to this point, you are all the most amazing people in the world. I hope that you all continue to read the story and please Review if you like it, or if you think that there's something I messed up on or if shoot me a PM.  
-Ambercat999


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you ready, Mr. Zartan?"

"Born ready, Doctor; this is going to be the achievement of a lifetime."

"Yes as a master of disguise, you have no equal, my friend."

"Eighteen months of studying my target, learning mannerisms, but the devil is in the details."

"Gentlemen, let's get it going."

"One more thing, I'll control my own brain, thank you very much; let's do this."

Rex moved to the front of the machine initiating the process. Needles inserted themselves into Zartan's face injecting the nanomite solution into his body.

"Wow that was a bit nasty."

"Think so? Let's run some tests; eye color, skin tone, hair follicles, and initiating facial reconstruction tests."

It was at this point that Zartan truly understood what true pain was, his entire body tensed as his entire face shifted and reconfigured itself. Rex watched this all happen with a scientific glee, he was always looking for new things to test and changing ones physical features was an interesting test indeed. This test however was particularly welcome because it helped to relieve some of his nerves. He had been feeling somewhat antsy since Jessie had been captured, not that he would ever admit it, and had found that the test took his mind off of her absence.

At the same time the Joe's were busy trying to pinpoint the terrorist group and its purpose.

"We gotta find out who's holding their leash."

"With their weaponry, financing, and intel, these guys are high-line pros. That limits the possibilities."

"Hey, the weapons case."

"What?" Duke seemed a little confused as to what Ripcord was talking about, they all did.

"Remember, McCullen had us open the weapons case?"

"What about it?"

"I bet you he gave us a code that reactivated the tracking beacon."

"You're right; McCullen, that son of a bitch."

"So, McCullen uses NATO to fund his R&D and then he steals the warheads back."

Duke smirked at Ripcord, "And who says you're not a thinker?"

"So what's our next step?"

"Well, I think we should ask our _guest_ if she knows what her dear daddy is up to."

The last thing Jessie had expected to wake up to was someone slamming their hands onto her cell door. She got up from her cot and walked over, seeing Duke's face staring back at her.

"So Jessie guess what we just figured out. McCullen is the one leading the terrorist group which means that we know who you are now; Jessie McCullen only daughter and heir of the wealthy arms dealer James McCullen."

She was impressed; she hadn't expected them to figure out who she was so quickly. Then again they were the best of the best so it wasn't that surprising. She slowly started to clap figuring that it would annoy them that she wasn't shocked by their newfound knowledge.

"Congratulations you know who I am, let's throw a party," Jessie's ton was sarcastic and she had an extremely condescending look on her face, "What's the point of telling me you know my name, it's not like that's gonna make me spill my guts and give you any of our plans or anything."

Duke wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, he wasn't expecting her to be so calm about her identity being revealed. He had been hoping that it would put some pressure on her and allow them to get at least a little more info out of her at least. Luckily for him Breaker ran in saving him from coming up with a response.

"Hey, I found her."

Duke looked over at Jessie and smirked, "Well I guess we won't need you to spill your guts after all."

They left her cell and headed back to the main control center where a picture of Anna was displayed at in the center console.

"Yeah that's her alright."

"Her name is Ana de Cobray. Baroness, if you're feeling formal."

"Baroness? Wow, she really traded up, huh? Financially, of course."

A wedding picture featuring Anna and a mystery man popped up.

"Who's he?"

"Daniel de Cobray. Big shot French scientist. Runs a lab in Paris."

"Lab what kind of Lab?"

"Particle accelerator."

"Oh, my God. They're going to use him to weaponize the warheads."

"Well, that's where she's going."

"I like croissants."

"We should take McCullen's daughter with us, if what she said about the Baroness and Storm Shadow are true then she is obviously very close to them. If all else fails we might be able to use her as leverage."

They all agreed that it would be good to have a backup plan and so Jessie was retrieved from her cell and moved to the transport plane. The trip was a rather awkward one for Jessie; everyone was doing their own thing. She had been sat next to Duke and she had thought about trying to start a conversation with him but when she had looked over he had already zoned out. She huffed quietly to herself, if she had been with Baroness and Storm Shadow they would have spent the trip planning out what they were going to do when they got there and making mock bets about what was going to happen. She sighed; she missed her family desperately and hoped that she would have a chance to escape during the mission.

Jessie sat in the back of the van that had been provided for the Joes upon arrival in Paris with her hands cuffed behind her back. She watched wordlessly as Ripcord and Duke suited up, she had to admit some of the technology the Joes had was impressive, it couldn't compare to what Rex invented though.

"Hey, is that Dubble Bubble?"

"But it's my last piece."

Breaker nodded, "Come on, give it to me."

"All right, there you go." Jessie couldn't help but smile, they really did seem like a family; a lot like her family infect. It was a shame they were on different sides.

"All right, stick to the plan. Scarlett, Snake Eye's, take the front. Rip, Duke, take the back. Breaker will be our eyes and ears. I'll give the orders form here. You do what I say, when I say. Got it?"

"Yes, Daddy."

The van pulled up to the laboratories right as Anna and Storm Shadow walked out, Jessie couldn't help but admire how attractive Storm Shadow looked in his suit. Before the Joe's had a chance to confront them they had already piled into a black hummer and started to leave.

"Take that Hummer, Snake."

Snake jumped from the van taking off after the hummer Duke not far behind. Ripcord was about to follow when Heavy Duty stopped him.

"Careful, they're worth millions of dollars each."

"Millions of dollars got it."

Jessie's smile widened as Ripcord fell out of the van, it seemed that he was so excited to be a part of the action that he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing.

"Jesus."

"My bad, my bad. Won't happen again!"

And as if the universe was hell bent on proving him wrong, a car hit him right as he finished his sentence.

"Thanks a lot, buddy."

"Come on Scarlett babe. You in or out? We gotta get in this fight!"

A motorcycle pulled up at that exact moment and Jessie could see the other woman's eyes light up. It would seem that she was gonna be a part of the fight after all. Breaker monitored where each of the Joe's were as Heavy Duty tried to catch up with them.

"Tracking signal is good. Don't let go of that truck, Snake Eyes."

Jessie didn't know exactly what happened next, only what she was told after the fact. According to Storm Shadow, Snake Eyes had been on top of the Hummer and no matter what they did they couldn't get him off. They thought he had been knocked off at one point but he had simply moved to the undercarriage of the vehicle instead. The other three hadn't proven to be much of a problem but she could remember them communicating back to Heavy Duty as they progressed through the streets of Paris.

"Hey Heavy its getting thick out here."

"Yeah I know, they're driving right into the heaviest traffic. What kind of escape route is that?"

"Maybe they're not trying to escape. Maybe they're heading somewhere."

"Possible target?"

"Yes. Some place with a lot of metal."

Both Heavy Duty and Breaker had looked up to see that they were heading towards the Eiffel Tower.

"They're going to blow it up. All units!" Breaker had cut Heavy Duty off before he could finish giving his order.

"Guys, you have to stop them!"

"Yeah, we're working on it."

"I mean right now! They're going to detonate one of the warheads on the Eiffel Tower!" Breakers statement seemed to kick start the others because they tried twice as hard to stop the Hummer. They were unable to stop the hummer fortunately it would seem that lady luck was on their side. A train just happened to be passing by at the right moment and the Hummer ended up crossing its path. Jessie had let out a loud gasp when the train made contact with the vehicle; she remembered being so afraid that Storm or Anna had been hurt or even killed by the collision. Duke and Ripcord hadn't been able to stop in time and ended up colliding with the train as well. Duke went over and Rip went through.

Fortunately both Storm and Anna had made it out of the crash alive without any major injuries. Storm grabbed one of the warheads and Anna took the kill switch before taking off towards a glass building. At the same time Jessie was trying desperately not to fall over as Heavy Duty weaved in and out of traffic. She was almost afraid that he would end up crashing the van and killing them all. Breaker who was operating off a laptop was the one to deliver the news that made her heart soar.

"Hey guys, they're alive and they're on the move."

"And they've activated the warhead. I'm tracking the kill switch now," The computer zoomed in on the red dot that represented Anna, "Duke! Duke it's on the Baroness! Storm Shadow has one of the warheads and it's armed!"

That was the last Jessie heard about anything until she saw the war head flying over the water towards the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing just how fast the nanomites ate away at the metal before spreading to the cars below, the spread almost like a plague. While the others were distracted by the pandemonium going on around them Jessie took her chance to slip out through the back doors of the van. She used a move Storm Shadow had taught her to get her arms in front of her body before she slipped away using the chaos as a cover. By the time the Joes realized that she was gone she had already disappeared. She –procured a car and drove to Anna's old home as fast as she could. She used a hidden phone in Anna's study to contact her father. He then contacted Storm Shadow and Anna's plane, it was still in France and when they heard that Jessie had escaped they didn't waste any time going to pick her up.

When the aircraft landed Jessie could hardly contain her excitement, her heart almost burst when she saw Storm Shadow step out and she couldn't stop herself from running at him, almost tackling him in a hug. She was extremely glad that she was finally back where she belonged; she was so happy that there were joyful tears at the corner of her eyes. She released Strom only to grab Anna into an equally tight hug, one that the other gladly returned. When they finally parted Anna wrapped an arm around the younger woman leading her onto the plane so that they could go home. Anna was shocked to see Dukes unconscious body slumped in one of the seats near the back.

"Why is he here?"

Storm Shadow smirked, "He decided to play the hero."

Jessie laughed at the tone in his voice, "well I guess it serves him right then."

I can't believe it, three updates in three days. This is so not normal for me so please don't expect me to always update so quickly. So Jessie's finally back where she belongs, but how will she react when she finds out her father didn't even try to save her? Special thanks to StupidDeaths for following my story.

**To ShiningWingsOfTheDragon: I'm glad that you liked the part with Snake Eyes being uncomfortable it was something that made me laugh when I thought about it. I appreciate the advice it makes a lot of sense. Thanks again for the multiple reviews and I hope you continue to find my story enjoyable.**

**To IM Awesome: Haha your reviews always make me smile. I'm glad that you liked the Snake Eyes part I think the interrogation scene is one of the favorite scenes I've written so far. It really does mean the world to me that this is one of your favorite fanfictions. I hope it continues to live up to your expectations.**

Thank you to everyone who gave my story a chance and has read up to this point. Please if you like the story REVIEW! You all rock!  
-Ambercat999


	7. Chapter 7

Jessie couldn't even begin to convey how great it felt to be back with her family, the Joe's hadn't been terribly bad, but her loved ones were much preferred. She looked over to where Anna was leaning over a laptop, curious she walked over to see what her "older sister" was doing.

".. his cerebral cortex."

"I hate to break the news to you, but I don't think he's gonna give you much in his dead condition."

There was the sound of something piercing skin and simultaneously one of the lines on the laptops screen started to fluctuate.

"The brain survives a couple of minutes after death."

"We can retrieve he electrical impulses from his most recent memories and convert them to images."

"Well, can we find Duke?"

"We need to find the other three warheads first."

"If this guy remembers his way home, maybe we can find both."

It was then that Anna started to type away at the machine in front of her furiously. They couldn't have the Joes find their secret base; it would put their entire operation in danger. A small video feed of Breaker holding a small device popped up in the right hand corner of the screen as Anna continued to type away.

"Okay, here comes the images, let's see where this guy's been."

Suddenly the body began to jerk about as if it was being electrocuted.

"He's still alive!"

"He can't be, he's got 3-inch needles in his head!"

"Hey dead guys don't breakdance!"

"What's happening Breaker?"

"Nanomites, they're eating him."

"Must be some sort of self-destruct, hurry Breaker!"

"Come on, come on, come on. No, no! No, No, No!"

Jessie had to laugh as the video cut out, Anna was a genius; there was no way Breaker was going to get the information he wanted before she shut him down.

At the same time McCullen and Rex were watching the same feed from their home base.

"The beauty of nanotechnology." McCullen nodded the slight smile on his face the only sign that he was pleased with their accomplishment.

The news came about an hour later that a group of armed American's had been arrested. Again Jessie couldn't help but laugh, sure the Joe's had stopped the nanomites from finishing their job in France but in the overall scheme of things, they had lost. They had lost possession of the other three warheads and were now detained and unable to retrieve the lost weapons. Not to mention their leader was confined to a wheel chair, unable to assist them in battle. Jessie was feeling pretty confident that her father's plans would go off without a hitch now that the Joes were out of the way.

"Call McCullen, tell him we have the three warheads and Viper."

"_Right away."_

Duke was awake and Jessie found it highly entertaining how their roles had been reversed.

"Why didn't you just kill me?"

"McCullen has something special in mind for you."

Duke seemed to flinch when McCullen was mentioned, "What happened to you?"

"Now you care?" Jessie flinched a bit; she could tell that this conversation was going to be a nasty one and she leaned into Storm Shadow a bit preparing herself for the oncoming storm. He looked over at her and smirked a little. He found it adorable that she would hide behind him whenever she felt threatened, even if the threat was just a verbal fight.

"Okay, I am sorry, I'm sorry about Rex; I'm sorry that I couldn't bring Rex home. And I'm so sorry that I couldn't face you afterwards."

"Well, everybody's sorry about something."

The fact that McCullen had chosen to build his base under the Polar Icecaps had always fascinated Jessie, it was such a random spot and at the same time it was perfect. No one would ever suspect they were there and even if they did it would be extremely hard for them to launch a successful attack. There were thousands of miles of ice and it was at least 10 stories thick, it made finding the base near impossible unless you already knew where it was. Not to mention the sea life that they saw outside the compound was breathtaking.

Unfortunately the jet they were on wasn't built for the water and so they had to be dropped off at one of the ground level entrances. As they were about to enter the compound Duke suddenly grabbed the war heads case using it to knock Jessie and two of the Viper Soldiers to the ground before turning to make a run for it. The guard at the entrance raised his gun to shoot the Joe when Anna sopped him.

"No! McCullen has plans for him!" Storm Shadow used one of his shuriken to subdue the man, though he may have put a bit more force behind the throw than necessary. The Joe had hurt Jessie and that was unforgivable in his eyes.

Two of the guards started to beat on Duke but Anna put a quick stop to that, "Enough."

Storm Shadow casually walked past the downed man and grabbed the case before kneeling down next to him.

"And what was your plan? Run 3,000 miles across the ice? Stupid soldier." Having said his bit he walked off, stopping to help Jessie up before continuing on into the base. Anna stayed a bit longer to make sure Duke was being properly handled before smirking at him and heading inside herself.

The group took a high-speed elevator down to the main part of the base where McCullen was waiting for them.

Storm Shadow exited first informing McCullen that they still had 3 warheads left to use.

"Take the warheads to the missiles. I want them ready to launch in one hour."

"It will be done."

McCullen nodded to Jessie, acknowledging that she was back before turning his attention to Anna. Feeling as though she had been dismissed Jessie followed after Storm Shadow feeling a tad hurt that her own father didn't seem to care about the fact that his daughter had just returned from being held captive. She knew he had a lot on his mind at the moment but still… At least she knew that Storm Shadow was glad to have her back and she knew that when she went down to the labs Rex was sure to give her a warm welcome. She would just have to give her father time, or so she hoped.

I'VE FINALLY WRITTEN ANOTHER CHAPTER! I kept telling myself I was going to write it but it just never got done. I've been super busy with school this year because I'm a senior in high school (finally!) and I decided this would be a good year to take AP. I promise that I wasn't ignoring you all and I want to thank everyone who reviewed my story while I was procrastinating. I would like to give a special thanks to mrusserey, Shades-Soul, StarWarsHarryPotterfangirl2788, golden-priestess, , GirlUnknown1, kittyloverluna, RavenRedSea, ArashikageGirl, sweetortonlover86, Mimzy94, and for following/adding my story to their favorites.

**To ****ZabuzasGirl****: Thanks so much for reviewing; your pm was actually the thing that finally got me to write this chapter so thank you for giving me that little extra push.**

**To ****The-Darkened Abyss: Thanks for the review I'm glad you're enjoying my story**

**To ****ShiningWingsOfTheDragon: I know the last chapter was a bit rushed haha I ended up leaving to go see a movie half way through writing it so I kind of lost my train of thought for where I was going with it XD I do plan on changing some things and adding in more about Jessie's past I just haven't gotten to it yet, they should start to show up in the next few chapters. Thanks for reviewing again you rock!**

**To IM Awesome: Thanks for reviewing again like I said your reviews make me smile **** good for you on making an account and don't worry, I read Fanfiction at school all the time XD**

**To ArashikageGirl: I'm glad that you love this story so much! I hope you continue to enjoy it as the story progresses.**

**To: Asery Aseerrmio Ecvoll Asernil: Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the story, I hope you continue to like it as it progresses **

**To kittyloverluna: I'm glad you like Jessie so much, she's one of my favorite characters that I've written as and it's good to know that other people like her too **

**To takara410: I'm glad that you love my story I hope you continue to **

**To Guest: I'm glad you've liked the story so far, as for what's gonna happen; you're just gonna have to wait and find out ;P**

As always thanks to everyone who's read my story you are all super awesome amazing people and please _**REVIEW**_!  
-Ambercat999


	8. Chapter 8

Jessie had taken a detour from following Storm Shadow in order to stop by Rex's work station. Her father's welcome home had been less than heartwarming and she hoped that seeing one of her closest friends would make her feel better, Rex didn't disappoint.

As soon as she walked into the lab he greeted her with a large hug and a 'glad to have you back.' She was then led over to one of the many panels lining the walls of the room. Rex started to explain that Duke was going to be used as a nanomite test subject, he was about to go into greater detail when he noticed how close McCullen, Ana, and Duke were to reaching their current location and excused himself to finish preparing for the experiment. Jessie, having nothing better to do, turned to the panel displaying the three and listened in on their conversation.

"What are you going to do with the warheads?"

"You take to your training well. That's good, still trying to develop intel."

"So you won't mind telling me."

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a business man; I'm going to use them."

"Millions of people are gonna die if you launch those warheads, so what is it that you want? "

Jessie flinched when Duke mentioned the millions that would die when her father set the warheads off. She knew that he wasn't a nice man, but she tried not to think of what would happen when he was finally able to finish his work. Despite what most would think of her she wasn't a bad person, her family just happened to be not so nice and she simply loved them enough to go along with whatever plan they concocted.

"To strike fear into the hearts of every man, woman, and child on the planet, then they'll turn to the person with the most power."

"You?"

"No, not me; you're not seeing the whole picture."

"Then tell me."

"I don't want to spoil the surprise."

Jessie turned as her father and his companions entered the room.

"Ah, guests."

"Meet the genius behind all my nanotechnology."

"Genius? You are too kind. As you can see we are loading my nanomite warheads into the high-V missiles. Once at maximum velocity, Mach 5, not even the Joes have the technology to catch them,"

Jessie had heard these facts before and so instead of watching Rex and her father she chose to see what Duke and Ana were doing, and boy was she glad she did. She looked over at them just in time for her to catch them share a look. Duke was obviously concerned, but for a moment so did Ana, something Jessie found hard to understand. Ana had played a huge role in the operation and she'd never shown even the slightest hint of remorse or conflict until that precise moment.

"So who's this? Another recruit?" Rex's inquiry broke Jessie from her train of thought.

"Albeit a rather unwilling one."

"I'll prepare him for the procedure." At that Rex led Duke and his two guards away. Jessie noticed the look of longing Ana had as he was led out and she started to wonder if something was up. Unfortunately she didn't have much time to ponder her new theory because right as they were leaving Storm Shadow walked in, instantly obtaining most of her attention.

She went to say something to him but McCullen gained his attention first and the two of them departed. Jessie sighed softly to herself before getting up and walking over to Anna, putting a hand on her shoulder. She might not have known exactly what was going on in the other woman's head but she knew that Ana was troubled by something, and she'd be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to help her.

Jessie hadn't actually been aware that the Joe's had breached the bases security at first. After attempting to comfort Ana without actually saying anything she had headed down to where Rex was going to perform the "operation." She rather enjoyed watching him work and the nanomite technology fascinated her no matter how many times she saw it used.

"MARS Industries manufactures 70% of all arms on this planet, _70%_. Did you know that, Duke? There are two sides to McCullen's operation, the Sword and the Shield. The Sword creates and sells weaponry. The shield creates defensive technology, like high-tech bunkers, which are supposed to protect one from anything from a nuclear blast to a nanomite warhead. Unfortunately, the bunker in which I took shelter was just a prototype."

"Who are you?"

Instead of verbally responding to Dukes question Rex chose to show him instead. He walked over to the chair in which Duke was restrained and removed his wig and mask showing Duke his severely scarred face. Jessie didn't flinch; she had seen Rex's face before and maintained the idea that even though his face was severely disfigured, she would still always love him as family.

"Rex?" His smile confirmed Dukes question.

"You son of a bitch! Ana buried you! "

"Moving ceremony, I'm sure. The three-volley salute, boots on the ground, a folded flag in her arms."

"Why? Why didn't you just come in?"

"Because I discovered something," Rex began to retell the story of what happened the day he supposedly died, "We survived that blast, somewhat. And Dr. Mindbender and I escaped with his research, which I perfected and which you will now experience first-hand."

"Does Ana know about this? About you?"

"No, and she never will."

Jessie felt for Rex, he had told her the true reason behind not revealing himself to her and it had made perfect sense. Her heart ached for him; he had to live so close to his sister without her even knowing who he was.

"You left me for dead, Duke, and look at me. Now you'll know what it's like to be a monster." Jessie wanted desperately to correct Rex, to tell him that he wasn't a monster, but she knew he wouldn't appreciate her interrupting him so she stayed quiet.

Jessie had been so focused on what was about to happen to Duke that she totally missed Ana entering the room. It was only when she knocked Rex out of his seat that she realized she was there. Before Jessie could do anything Ana had shut down the machine and removed Dukes restraints.

"We don't have much time."

"Ana?"

As soon as Duke was free the two of them shared a passionate kiss, until Duke noticed something on her neck.

"Oh, my God."

Suddenly Ana's body started to writhe as if she were being electrocuted.

"Ana!" Duke and Jessie's worried cries sounded at the same time, both worried for Ana's safety.

"Security, to the operating chamber!"

"Rex!"

"I press this, she dies."

"You did this to your own sister!"

"I loved my sister. Do you have any idea the state she was in with me dead, you gone? _Have you ever felt truly alone? I gave her a way to deal with the pain. I gave her purpose._"

"You could have stopped all of this just by letting her know you were alive!"

"Science requires sacrifice."

"All she's done was because of you!"

"And because of you, Duke. You abandoned her, let's not forget that point."

"I'm gonna kill you, Rex."

Jessie had moved to the far end of the room as soon as the two of them had started fighting, verbal fights had always frightened her and she was feeling very much like a little girl at that moment. She desperately wanted them to stop but she couldn't figure out how, luckily for her McCullen and the security that Rex had called for showed up before the situation got any worse. McCullen instantly went over to Ana's prone body looking her over with concern.

"Is she still alive?"

"For now."

"I thought we had complete control, you said this couldn't happen."

"I didn't think it could. I've never seen anyone override the programming, even momentarily."

"She did this for him."

"The pain must have been excruciating."

Suddenly the entire room started to shake. McCullen instantly went to the intercom and started barking orders.

"Fire up the pulse cannon!"

"We're on it, sir."

Duke used the momentary distraction to take Ana's gun and shoot the two guards. He then turned his gun on McCullen. Rex was the one to stop him by hovering his finger over a button on the board controlling the nanomites inside Ana.

"I'll do it!" Jessie couldn't believe he was threating to kill his own sister, even if it was just a bluff, it greatly disturbed her.

"Put it down!"

"Your choice, Duke."

"Do you think she loved you? Did you imagine your life with her?" Jessie wasn't sure if her father was trying to provoke Duke or if he was simply running his mouth for the sake of it.

"All I know is, neither one of you deserve her."

"That's it she dies."

"Don't do it, Rex!"

Suddenly McCullen grabbed the flamethrower that was next to him and tried to fry Dukes head, unfortunately for him Duke used the pulse gun to redirect the flames back at him. Jessie could only watch as her father fell to the ground as his head was engulfed in fire. Rex had dropped to the ground as soon as the gun went off and dropped the control pad in the process. Duke used his temporary victory to retrieve it and revive Ana while Rex got away. Ana woke with a gasp and despite everything that was going on Jessie felt a surge of happiness.

"Come on. I'm gonna get you out of here."

Rex stopped just long enough to grab McCullen off the ground, dragging the wounded man along with him. Jessie, realizing they had forgotten about her, quickly jumped to her feet and attempted to follow them without drawing Dukes attention. However, it didn't work. He looked up and noticed her trying to sneak out the room and promptly aimed his gun at her, preparing to shoot.

"No! Duke don't shoot her, she's innocent in all of this; she was just doing whatever she could for her family, for me." It was Ana who had stopped Duke; it would seem that even though she had gotten her old memories back she hadn't forgotten about all the time the two of them had spent together.

Duke looked apprehensive about the whole thing but after he had shared a brief look with Ana he lowered his gun.

"Fine, but you're coming with us. Just because Ana says your innocent doesn't mean you won't have to pay for the crimes you committed."

Jessie could only nod weakly and fall into step behind them as they left the room. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she took in the extensive damage that had been done to the base. It was her home and it pained her to see it damaged. She suddenly wished that Storm Shadow was with her, she needed the stability he provided her. She wasn't sure what was going to happen to her after all of this was over but she knew one thing for sure, _nothing would be the same ever again_…

So I've updated again, hopefully the multiple updates in a short amount of time will make up for the long time I made you guys wait for that last chapter. It's weird to think but this story's almost done, don't worry though I'm going to make a sequel, and I was hoping someone would be willing to beta for me. If you're willing just shoot me a message and I'd be extremely grateful.

I'd like to give special thanks to Red Rose Cat for adding my story to their favorites.

**To ShiningWingsOfTheDragon: I do so love to read your reviews and I hope that the drama in this chapter was to your liking, I was feeling in a dramatic mood so it all just sort of worked out XD**

**To Guest: So here's the next chapter, for once I've updated in a timely manner **** hope you enjoyed it**

**To kittyloverluna: I'm glad you like the story and thanks for the compliment, you're great too! There wasn't a whole lot of Storm Shadow in this chapter but there will be in the next one, I hope you like it!**

**To ZabuzasGirl: Your dedication to this story is inspiring. I hope you liked this chapter and continue to enjoy it.**

Thanks to everyone who has read this story up to this point if I could I would give you all a cookie. Please Review the story if you liked it. Again I ask that you **REVIEW** the story, I would love feedback on what everyone thinks. Thank again!  
-Ambercat999


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